require considerable exertion and labour. They are usually bored at the
distance of two or three feet from the summit of the bank or surface
of the ground, to the depth of about three feet, but sometimes to that
of four or even five. They are near each other or remote, according
to the number of pairs of swallows that resort to the place, and the
extent of the bank. In one situation you may find not more than a dozen
pairs at work, while in another several hundreds of holes may be seen
scattered over some hundreds of yards. On the bluffs of the Ohio and
the Mississippi there are many very extensive breeding-places. While
engaged in digging a sand-bank on the shore of the Ohio, at Henderson,
for the purpose of erecting a steam-mill, I was both amused and vexed
by the pertinacity with which the little winged labourers continued to
bore holes day after day, whilst the pickaxes and shovels demolished
them in succession. The birds seemed to have formed a strong attachment
to the place, perhaps on account of the fine texture of the soil, as
I observed many who had begun holes a few hundred yards off abandon
them, and join those engaged in the newly opened excavation. Whether
the holes are frequently bored horizontally or not I cannot say, but
many which I examined differed in this respect from those described by
authors, for on introducing a gun-rod or other straight stick, I found
them to have an inclination of about ten degrees upwards. The end of
the hole is enlarged in the form of an oven, for the reception of the
nest, and the accommodation of the parents and their brood.
When the birds have for a while examined the nature of the bank, they
begin their work by alighting against it, securing themselves by the
claws, and spreading their tails considerably so as, by being pressed
against the surface, to support the body. The bill is now employed in
picking the soil, until a space large enough to admit the body of the
bird is formed, when the feet and claws are also used in scratching
out the sand. I have thought that the slight ascent of the burrow
contributed considerably to enable the bird to perform the severe task
of disposing of the loose materials, which are seen dropping out at
irregular intervals. Both sexes work alternately, in the same manner
as Woodpeckers; and few ornithological occupations have proved more
pleasing to me than that of watching several hundred pairs of these
winged artificers all busily and equally engaged, some in digging the
burrows, others in obtaining food, which they would now and then bring
in their bills for the use of their mates, or in procuring bits of dry
grass or large feathers of the duck or goose, for the construction of
their nests.
So industrious are the little creatures that I have known a hole dug
to the depth of three feet four inches, and the nest finished in four
days, the first egg being deposited on the morning of the fifth. It
sometimes happens that soon after the excavation has been commenced,
some obstruction presents itself, defying the utmost exertions of the
birds; in which case they abandon the spot, and begin elsewhere in the
neighbourhood. If these obstructions occur and are pretty general,
the colony leaves the place; and it is very seldom that, after such
an occurrence, any swallows of this species are seen near it. I have
sometimes been surprised to see them bore in extremely loose sand. On
the sea coast, where soft banks are frequent, you might suppose that,
as the burrows are only a few inches apart, the sand might fall in so
as to obstruct the holes and suffocate their inmates; but I have not
met with an instance of such a calamitous occurrence. Along the banks
of small rivulets I have found these birds having nests within a foot
or two of the water, having been bored among the roots of some large
trees, where I thought they were exposed to mice, rats, or other small
predaceous animals. The nest is generally formed of some short bits of
dry grass, and lined with a considerable number of large feathers. They
lay from five to seven eggs for the first brood, fewer for the next.
They are of an ovate, somewhat pointed form, pure white, eight-twelfths
of an inch long, and six-twelfths in breadth
The young, as soon as they are able to move with ease, often crawl
to the entrance of the hole, to wait the return of their parents
with food. On such occasions they are often closely watched by the
smaller Hawks, as well as the common Crows, which seize and devour
them, in spite of the clamour of the old birds. These depredations
upon the young are in fact continued after they have left the nest,
and while they are perched on the dry twigs of the low trees in the
neighbourhood, until they are perfectly able to maintain themselves on
wing without the assistance of their parents.
In Louisiana, or in any district where this species raises more than
one brood in the season, the males, I believe, take the principal
charge of the young that have left the nest, though both sexes
alternately incubate, all their moments being thus rendered full of
care and anxiety respecting both their offspring and the sitting bird.
The young acquire the full brown plumage of the adult by the first
spring, when there is no observable difference between them; but I am
induced to think that they keep apart from the old birds during the
first winter, when I have thought I could yet perceive an inferiority
in their flight, as well as in the loudness of their notes.
This species has no song, properly so called, but merely a twitter of
short lisping notes. In autumn it at times alights on trees preparatory
to its departure. On such occasions the individuals, often collected in
great numbers, take up the time chiefly in pluming themselves, in which
occupation they continue for hours.
I must conclude with assuring you that in my opinion, no difference
whatever exists between the Bank Swallow of America and that of Europe.
The birds from which I made the drawing for my plate were procured on
the banks of the Schuylkil River in 1824.
HIRUNDO RIPARIA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 344.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 575.—_Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis, p. 65.
BANK SWALLOW or SAND MARTIN, HIRUNDO RIPARIA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. v. p. 46, pl. 38, fig. 4.
HIRUNDO RIPARIA, THE SAND MARTIN, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii p. 333.
BANK SWALLOW, or SAND MARTIN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p.
607.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 1.
Bill very short, much depressed and very broad at the base, compressed
toward the point, of a triangular form with the lateral outlines
concave, when viewed from above or beneath; upper mandible with the
dorsal line considerably convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and
overlapping, with a slight but distinct notch close to the deflected
tip; lower mandible with the angle very broad, the dorsal line
ascending and convex, the ridge broad and flat at the base, narrowed
toward the tip, which is acute, the edges inflected. Nostrils basal,
lateral, oblong.
Head of ordinary size, roundish, depressed; neck short; body slender.
Feet very small; tarsus very short, anteriorly scutellate, moderately
compressed, with a tuft of feathers behind at the lower part; toes
free, small, the lateral equal, the first much stronger; claws long,
slightly arched, much compressed, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended, without lustre. Wings very long, extending a
little beyond the tail, very narrow, slightly falciform; the primaries
tapering to an obtuse-point, the first quill longest, the second half a
twelfth shorter, the third four and a quarter twelfths shorter than the
second, the rest rapidly graduated; six of the secondaries distinctly
emarginate. Tail rather long, deeply emarginate, the feathers tapering
to an obtuse point.
Bill brownish-black. Iris hazel. Feet flesh-coloured, claws dusky.
The upper parts are greyish-brown, or mouse colour, the head and
wing-coverts darker, as are the primary coverts, primary quills, and
outer secondaries, of which the shafts are dusky above, white beneath.
The lower parts are white; the cheeks, a broad band across the lower
part of the neck and fore part of the breast, and the sides under the
wings, greyish-brown. The tail-feathers are very narrowly edged with a
lighter tint, the outer with whitish.
Length to end of tail 5 inches, to end of wings 5-1/4, to end of claws
4-1/8; extent of wings 11; bill along the ridge 3/12, along the edge of
lower mandible (6-1/2)/12; wing from flexure 4-2/12; tail to the fork
1-11/12; to the end 2-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 5/12; hind toe (2-1/4)/12; its
claw (3-1/2)/12; middle toe (4-3/4)/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 2.
The Female cannot be distinguished from the male by any difference in
her external appearance.
Length to end of tail 4-7/8 inches, to end of wings 5-1/4, to end of
claws 4.
Young. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 3.
The young when fully fledged, have the bill dusky, with the edges
yellow, the feet flesh-coloured, the claws yellowish. The colour of
the upper parts is darker, but the feathers are margined with light
greyish-brown; the quills brownish-black, the outer very faintly, the
inner broadly margined; the tail-feathers greyish-black, edged with
greyish-white. The lower parts are white, the throat faintly streaked
with dusky; the band across the breast, and the sides, coloured as in
the adult, but darker.
On very carefully comparing skins of this Swallow, with a series
of those of the Bank Swallow of Europe, procured for me by my
esteemed friend, THOMAS DURHAM WEIR of Boghead, Esq. an enthusiastic
and successful observer of the habits of birds, I can perceive no
difference whatever. Old birds compared with old, and young with young,
prove perfectly similar. There is, however, another species closely
allied to the present, and which might very readily be confounded with
it. This species, to which I give the name of Rough-winged Swallow,
_Hirundo serripennis_, I consider it expedient to describe, although it
has not as yet been figured by me.
In a male of the present species, from Boston, the palate is flat, the
mouth very wide, measuring 5 twelfths across. The tongue is short,
triangular, 2-1/2 twelfths long, deeply emarginate and papillate at
the base, two of the lateral papillæ much larger than the rest, the
tip bluntish and slightly slit. The œsophagus, _a b c_, is 1 inch
9 twelfths long, narrow, 2 twelfths in diameter, without crop or
dilatation. The proventriculus, _b_, is little enlarged. The stomach,
_cdef_, a gizzard of moderate length, with distinct lateral muscles,
and of an elliptical form, is half an inch long, and 5 twelfths
broad; its epithelium longitudinally rugous, tough, and light red. It
is filled with remains of insects. The intestine, _f g h_, is 5-1/2
inches long, its greatest diameter 1-1/2 twelfth; the cœca very small,
being 1-1/2 twelfth long, and 1/2 twelfth in diameter, their distance
from the anus 9 twelfths. There is no essential difference between
the digestive organs of this and other swallows, and the Flycatchers,
Warblers, and other slender-billed birds.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 1 inch 4 twelfths long; slender, flattened, of about
55 unossified rings. The contractor and sterno-tracheal muscles are
slender; and there are four pairs of inferior laryngeal muscles
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.
_HIRUNDO SERRIPENNIS._
On the afternoon of the 20th of October 1819, I was walking along
the shores of a forest-margined lake, a few miles from Bayou Sara,
in pursuit of some Ibises, when I observed a flock of small Swallows
bearing so great a resemblance to our common Sand Martin, that I at
first paid little attention to them. The Ibises proving too wild to be
approached, I relinquished the pursuit, and being fatigued by a long
day’s exertion, I leaned against a tree, and gazed on the Swallows,
wishing that I could travel with as much ease and rapidity as they,
and thus return to my family as readily as they could to their winter
quarters. How it happened I cannot now recollect, but I thought of
shooting some of them, perhaps to see how expert I might prove on other
occasions. Off went a shot, and down came one of the birds, which my
dog brought to me between his lips. Another, a third, a fourth, and at
last a fifth were procured. The ever-continuing desire of comparing one
bird with another led me to take them up. I thought them rather large,
and therefore placed them in my bag, and proceeded slowly toward the
plantation of WILLIAM PERRY, Esq., with whom I had for a time taken up
my residence.
The bill and feet of the Swallows were pure black, and both, I thought,
were larger than in the Sand Martin; but differences like these I
seldom hold in much estimation, well knowing from long experience,
that individuals of any species may vary in these respects. I was
more startled when I saw not a vestige of the short feathers usually
found near the junction of the hind toe with the tarsus in the common
species, and equally so when I observed that the bird in my hand had
a nearly even tail, with broad rounded feathers, the outer destitute
of the narrow margin of white. At this time my observations went no
farther.
Doubts have been expressed by learned ornithologists respecting the
identity of the Common Sand Martin of America and that of Europe.
Some of them in their treatises write _Hirundo riparia?_ or _Cotyle
riparia?_ which in my opinion is foolish, especially if no reason be
given for appending so crooked a character. About two years ago, my
friend the Rev. JOHN BACHMAN, sent me four Swallow’s eggs accompanied
with a letter, in which was the following notice:—“Two pairs of
Swallows resembling the Sand Martin, have built their nests for two
years in succession in the walls of an unfinished brick house at
Charleston, in the holes where the scaffoldings had been placed. It
is believed here that there are two species of these birds.” The eggs
which my friend sent me differ greatly from those of our Common Sand
Martin, being so much longer, larger, and more pointed, that I might
have felt inclined to suppose them to belong to the European Swift,
_Cypselus murarius_. But of the birds which had laid them no particular
account was given. Time has passed; and during the while I have been
anxious to meet again with such Swallows as I had shot near Bayou Sara,
as well as to determine whether our Common Sand Martin be the same as
that of Europe. And now, Reader, I am at last able to say, that the
Sand Martin or Bank Swallow, _Hirundo riparia_, is common to Europe and
America; and further, that a species, confounded with it in the latter
country, is perfectly distinct.
I perhaps should never have discovered the differences existing between
these species had I not been spurred by the remarks of VIEILLOT, who,
in expressing his doubts as to their identity, and perhaps holding
in his hand the bird here spoken of, says that the tarsus is much
larger than in the European Sand Martin. I have been surprised that
these doubts did not awaken in others a desire to inquire into the
subject. Had this been done, however, I should probably have lost an
opportunity of adding another new species to those to whose nomination
I can lay claim, not to speak of such as, although well known to me
previous to their having been published by others, I have lost the
right of naming because I had imparted my knowledge of them to those
who were more anxious of obtaining this sort of celebrity. I have now
in my possession one pair of these Swallows procured by myself in South
Carolina during my last visit to that State. Of their peculiar habits I
can say nothing; but, owing to their being less frequent than the Sand
Martin, I am inclined to believe that their most habitual residence may
prove to be far to the westward, perhaps in the valleys of the Columbia
River.
I regret that I have not figured this species, though it would have
proved exceedingly difficult to exhibit in an engraving the peculiar
character presented by the outer quill, unless it were much magnified.
The specific characters of these two Swallows, so nearly allied, are as
follows:—
_Hirundo riparia._ Tail, Fig. 1, slightly forked, margin of first
quill smooth, tarsus with a tuft of feathers behind; upper parts
greyish-brown, lower whitish, with a dusky band across the fore part of
the neck.
_Hirundo serripennis._ Tail, Fig. 2, slightly emarginate, margin of
first quill, Fig. 3, rough with the strong decurved tips of the barbs,
tarsus bare; upper parts greyish-brown, lower pale greyish-brown, white
behind.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 3._]
In its general appearance, including proportions as well as colour,
the Rough-winged Swallow is extremely similar to the Bank Swallow. It
differs however in having the bill considerably longer, more attenuated
toward the end, with the point of the upper mandible more decurved.
The tail, Fig. 2, is shorter and but slightly emarginate, the lateral
exceeding the middle feathers by only two-twelfths of an inch, whereas
in the other species they exceed them by five-twelfths or even six;
feathers are also broader and more rounded at the end. The wings are
longer, and extend half an inch beyond the tail. The tarsi and toes are
somewhat longer and more slender, and there are no feathers on the hind
part of the tarsus as in the common species; the claws are much more
slender.
The bill is black, the tarsi, toes, and claws dusky. The upper parts
are of the same greyish-brown, or mouse-colour, as those of the Bank
Swallow. The lower are of a very light greyish-brown, gradually paler
on the hind parts, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts being white.
Length to end of tail 5-3/4 inches, to end of wings 6-1/4; extent of
wings 12-1/2; bill along the ridge (3-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower
mandible (6-1/2)/12; wing from flexure 4-4/12; tail to end of middle
feather 1-10/12; to end of longest feather 2; tarsus 5/12; hind toe
(2-1/4)/12, its claw (2-1/4)/12; middle toe 5/12, its claw (3-1/4)/12.
In a specimen, from Charleston, South Carolina, preserved in spirits,
the roof of the mouth is flat, the width of the gape 5-1/2 twelfths;
the tongue triangular, 3-1/2 twelfths long, emarginate and papillate
at the base, with two of the papillæ much larger, flat above, tapering
to a slit point, more narrow and elongated than that of the Sand
Swallow. The œsophagus is 1 inch 11 twelfths long, without dilatation,
its breadth 1-1/2 twelfth. The stomach is elliptical, muscular, 5
twelfths long, being 4-1/2 twelfths, and placed a little obliquely;
the epithelium brownish-red, tough, longitudinally rugous, filled with
remains of insects. The intestine is 4-1/2 inches long; the cœca 1-1/2
twelfth in length, and 8 twelfths distant from the anus.
The trachea is 1 inch 4 twelfths long, its diameter 1 twelfth; its
rings about 50; the muscles as in the other species; the bronchi very
slender, of about 12 half rings.
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.
_HIRUNDO THALASSINA_, SWAINSON.
PLATE CCCLXXXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
Of this, the most beautiful Swallow hitherto discovered within the
limits of the United States, the following account has been transmitted
to me by my friend Mr NUTTALL. “We first met with this elegant
species within the table-land of the Rocky Mountains, and they were
particularly abundant around our encampment on Harris Fork, a branch
of the Colorado of the west. They are nearly always associated with
the Cliff Swallow, here likewise particularly numerous. Their flight
and habits are also similar, but their twitter is different, and not
much unlike the note of our Barn Swallow. In the Rocky Mountains,
near our camp, we observed them to go in and out of deserted nests of
the Cliff Swallow, which they appeared to occupy in place of building
nests of their own. We saw this species afterwards flying familiarly
about in the vicinity of a farm-house (M. LE BOUTE’s) on an elevated
small isolated prairie on the banks of the Wahlamet, and as there are
no cliffs in the vicinity, they probably here breed in trees, as I
observed the White-bellied Martin do. This beautiful species in all
probability extends its limits from hence to the table-land of Mexico,
where Mr BULLOCH, it seems, found it.”
Dr TOWNSEND, who afterwards had better opportunities of observing the
habits of this bird, thus speaks of it:—“_Aguila chin chin_ of the
Chinook Indians, inhabits the neighbourhood of the Colorado of the
west, and breeds along its margins on bluffs of clay, where it attaches
a nest formed of mud and grasses resembling in some measure that of
the Cliff Swallow, but wanting the pendulous neck in that of the latter
species. The eggs are four, of a dark clay colour, with a few spots of
reddish-brown at the larger end. This species is also found abundant
on the lower waters of the Columbia. River, where _it breeds in hollow
trees_.”
Dr TOWNSEND also informs me that in the neighbourhood of the Columbia
River, the Cliff Swallow attaches its nest to the trunks of trees,
making it of the same form and materials as elsewhere. From the above
facts, and many equally curious, which I have mentioned, respecting the
variations exhibited by birds in the manner of forming their nests, as
well as in their size, materials, and situation, it will be seen that
differences of this kind are not of so much importance as has hitherto
been supposed, in establishing distinctions between species supposed
by some to be different, and by others identical. To give you some
definite idea of what I would here impress upon your mind, I need only
say that I have seen nests of the Barn or Chimney Swallow placed within
buildings, under cattle-sheds, against the sides of wells, and in
chimneys; that while some were not more than three inches deep, others
measured nearly nine; while in some there was scarcely any grass, in
others it formed nearly half of their bulk. I have also observed some
nests of the Cliff Swallow in which the eggs had been deposited before
the pendent neck was added, and which remained so until the birds had
reared their brood, amidst other nests furnished with a neck, which
was much longer in some than in others. From this I have inferred
that nests are formed more or less completely, in many instances, in
accordance with the necessity under which the bird may be of depositing
its eggs.
HIRUNDO THALASSINUS, _Swains._ Synopsis of Mexican Birds,
Philos. Mag. for 1827, p. 365.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 4.
Bill very short, much depressed and very broad at the base, compressed
toward the point, of a triangular form, with the lateral outlines
nearly straight; upper mandible with the dorsal line considerably
convex, the sides convex toward the end, the edges sharp and
overlapping, with a slight but distinct notch close to the deflected
acute tip; lower mandible with the angle very broad, the dorsal line
ascending and slightly convex, the ridge broad and a little convex
at the base, narrowed toward the tip, which is acute. Nostrils basal,
lateral oblong.
Head rather large, roundish; neck very short; body slender. Feet very
small; tarsus very short, anteriorly scutellate, compressed; toes
free, small, the lateral equal, the first stronger; claws rather long,
arched, much compressed, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended, on the upper parts somewhat velvety. Wings
very long, extending far beyond the tail, very narrow, slightly
falciform; the primaries tapering to an obtuse point; the first quill
longest, the second almost equal, the rest rapidly diminishing; six of
the secondaries emarginate. Tail of moderate length, emarginate, the
middle feathers four-twelfths shorter than the lateral; all rounded.
Bill black; iris brown; feet dusky. The upper part of the head deep
green gradually shaded into the dark purple of the hind neck; the back
rich grass-green, the rump and upper tail-coverts carmine purple. The
smaller wing-coverts are dusky, broadly tipped with green, glossed
with purple; the quills and larger coverts dusky, glossed with blue;
the tail also dusky, glossed with blue. A line over the eye, the
cheeks, and all the lower parts, are pure white excepting the lower
wing-coverts, which are light grey.
Length to end of tail 4-10/12, to end of wings 5-7/12; bill along the
ridge (2-3/4)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 5/12; wing from
flexure 4-6/12; tail to end of middle feathers 1-1/2, to end of longest
1-((10-1/2)/12); tarsus (4-3/4)/12; hind toe 2/12, its claw 2/12;
middle toe (5-1/2)/12, its claw 2/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 5.
The Female is somewhat smaller, and differs considerably in colour.
The upper part of the head and the hind neck are light greyish-brown
glossed with bronzed green; the back bright green as in the male, the
rump greyish-brown; the wings and tail are as in the male, but less
glossy; as are the lower parts, which are, however, anteriorly tinged
with grey.